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“West Virginia needs a new and diverse voice in the United States Senate, a voice that can listen and can walk with others to achieve great things. The United States Senate needs a voice that stands for common sense and fairness,” she said at the state Capitol in Charleston, according to West Virginia MetroNews, which first reported her plans to run. “I believe that I can be that voice.”

The congresswoman, who was just elected to her seventh term and announced her bid on her 59th birthday, has long toyed with a statewide run and her early move may be designed in part to pressure Rockefeller to retire. It remains to be seen whether the moderate congresswoman can win over the conservative wing of the party, though: The Club for Growth, for one, issued a statement after Capito’s announcement blasting her record on fiscal issues.

The 75-year-old Rockefeller is in his fifth term and has not said whether he’ll run again. The senator said Sunday that he received a heads-up about the announcement.

“Congresswoman Capito called last week to let me know of her plans, and I appreciated that,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “But my total focus right now is on the national budget situation and the fight for West Virginia families — making sure the very wealthy finally start paying their fair share again, for the first time in decades, rebuilding a strong middle class and creating real opportunity for those who are still struggling.

“Beyond that big question, everyone I talk to in West Virginia is tired of the non-stop campaigning. West Virginians just want us to do our jobs, and for me that means focusing full-time on the serious issues at hand. Politics can wait.”

Rockefeller is among the senators seen as most likely to retire, along with Democratic Sens. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Carl Levin of Michigan and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

The 2014 Senate map again looks ripe for the GOP. Twenty Democrats must defend their seats, compared to just 13 Republicans.

Readers' Comments (8)

This is why people dislike politicians so much. The 4 years off relentless political campaigning finally finishes and before the newly elected even get sworn in, the opportunist crawl out and start the next election. For humanities sake, give us a break.

I'm just hoping that Rockefeller announces his intentions soon. Whether it is time for politics, I don't know, but if he really cares about the issues he says he does, then the Democrats will need time to cultivate a candidate and begin the process of defending the seat against Capito. Though, if she is the Republican that finally breaks into a West Virginia Senate seat, it's not as bad as it could be.

But my total focus right now is on the national budget situation and the fight for West Virginia families – making sure the very wealthy finally start paying their fair share again, for the first time in decades

How insane is this super wealthy, trust fund baby Senator who never earned a dime of his own money.

Jay Rockefeller plans to focus on West Virginia people. Shelley Moore Capito plans to focus on winning the Senate seat. Shows as clearly as anybody would ever dream, where the priorities of the parties are. We need to expel all and every Republican from OUR Congress.

The senator says he wants to focus on making sure the very wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, for which a poster calls him insane because of his bountiful inherited wealth. Can you say non sequitor?